E3 2010 rumour: Nintendo 3DS in UK by 'early next year'

The big news from Nintendo at this year's E3 is the announcement of the new 3DS handheld, although it looks like British gamers might not be able to get their hands on one till early next year.

That's according to one 'senior source' at Nintendo who informed Eurogamer that the company is aiming to release the handheld in 'one territory' by the end of year, with a chance of a slip into 2011 for some territories such as the UK.

Christmas 2010 off?

TechRadar has contacted Nintendo UK for further news on plans for a British launch of the new 3DS console.

British gamers will be more than mildly miffed should their Japanese and American counterparts get hold of the new Nintendo handheld this side of Christmas.

Not only that, it would be surprising to see Nintendo return to its bad old days of a stepped-launch, with Europe and the UK treated as an afterthought to the Japanese and Americans.

The Nintendo 3DS is already the talk of E3, following a bullish and confident showing from Nintendo at its annual E3 conference in LA this week. Let's just hope they don't tarnish the PR win a little by telling us we might have to wait till 2011 to get our hands on the new 3DS.

The 3DS is capable of displaying 3D movies and games without the need for the user to wear unsightly 3D glasses, a feature which Nintendo boss Reggie Fils-Aime highlighted on a number of occasions at E3 this week.

In addition to playing 3D games and viewing 3D movies, you can also take and view your own 3D pictures with the new device.

Via Edge